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SAW-MILL SCIENCE. 



BY 



STUB PEN 




PHILADELPHIA : 

AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY, 

1420 CHESTNUT STREET. 



SAW-MILL SCIENCE. 



BY 



STUB PEN. IlMju 




O J.TJ D s ■* 



t 



PHILADELPHIA : 

AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY, 

1420 CHESTNUT STREET. 
\ 1 & 



73/^3 
S7 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1882, by the 

AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY, 
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, 



to 



SAW-MILL SCIENCE. 



AN EVOLUTIONIST COMES ALONG. 

Yesterday a book agent stopped at Jim- 
my Riggs's hotel. Of course, Jimmy invited 
him after supper to go to the saw-mill to meet 
the neighbors. Everybody wanted to hear 
whether the traveller had any news. He gos- 
siped away for some time, and finally got on 
the subject of evolution. This is a subject the 
lumbermen mostly were ignorant of. They 
were glad to have a chance to learn something 
about it from one who was a real evolutionist. 
With one consent they begged him to proceed. 

" Well, gentlemen, it certainly is wonderful 
what Science has discovered. Every living 
creature is made wholly out of one single sub- 
stance. That substance is called protoplasm, 
or bioplasm, as some prefer to call it. And 
they have all developed one out of the other 
in regular order, just as a chicken develops 
out of an egg. It is strange, gentlemen, but 

3 



4 SAW-MILL SCIENCE. 

it is true. Creation began with but a small 
microscopic monad. That monad developed 
into something higher, and that again into 
something higher still. And as it continued 
to develop it ramified off in all directions. 
That dividing off, in scientific language, is 
called differentiation. The protoplasm dif- 
ferentiates itself into limbs and members and 
organs and varieties and species and genera. 
But — to avoid scientific nomenclature, which 
some of you may not understand — matter is 
the father of the insect ; the insect is the father 
of the worm ; and the worm is the father of 
the eel ; and the eel is the father of the fish ; 
and the fish is the father of the bird ; and the 
bird is the father of the four-footed beast; 
and the four-footed beast is the father of the 
ape; and the ape is the father of the man. 
This is the genealogy of man according to 
Science. To be sure, this may be a little 
humiliating, at first sight, as compared with 
the genealogy of man in the commonly-re- 
ceived Scripture. But then such is Science. 
And it is truly wonderful, gentlemen, what 
Science has discovered. The rectification of 
the genealogy of man is the scientific event of 
the century. The long procession of animal 



SAW-MILL SCIENCE. 5 

life from the mollusk and the tadpole, along 
the line of invertebrates and vertebrates and 
mammals, up to the imperial man, who 
crowns the apex and shows how far the tad- 
pole has got up to the present era, is a dis- 
covery of which Science may well be proud." 

In this way the book agent rattled on for 
half an hour. The Deacon and Stimpson and 
the schoolmaster appeared to enjoy the thing 
hugely. Others of the company were dazed 
by the number of hard words that had been 
used. There was a silence for some time. 
The book agent needed to recover his breath, 
and the lumbermen their wits. 

At length, Stimpson asked, 

" Do you recognize any creative agency iu 
all this procession of yours?" 

"Well, as to that," the man replied, "we 
are not all quite agreed yet. Some of us con- 
cede some sort of creative agency at the be- 
ginning; others cannot see their way to ac- 
knowledge even that much." 

"And why not?" asked Stimpson, again. 

" Well, because it is considered unscientific," 

was the response. "We know nothing of 

any Creator. We deal merely with what we 

see and handle, and can measure with our 

1* 



6 SAW-MILL SCIENCE. 

calipers and weigh with our scales. It is the 
proud boast of Science that she deals only with 
things that she can handle." 

" Do any of you ever have any suspicion 
that there can be anything in this universe 
outside of what you get hold of with your 
calipers ?" 

" Well, no," said the man ; " we feel con- 
fident we are on the right track. We take 
nothing on tick or trust — or on faith, as the 
theologians call it." 

"Are there any breaks or gaps in the line 
of development from the tadpole up to the 
philosopher?" asked Stimpson, with increas- 
ing dryness. 

" Well, as for that," returned the other, 
" there are a few links wanting ; but only a 
few. A few ditches are yet to be bridged 
over — only a few, a very few, I assure you, 
sir. Take my word of honor as a gentleman 
for that. We are now busy seeking for the 
lost links, and are sure we shall find them 
some time or other." 

" Meanwhile, you want me to take your 
conclusions on faith — or, rather, on tick, as 
the merchants would call it? You rather 
object to my putting faith in a God or his 



SAW-MILL SCIENCE. 7 

word on the subject, but think I ought, by all 
means, to put faith in you and your word ? 
Now, if I must take things 'on tick/ I 
think I shall stick to the testimony of the 
old book." 

" But," said the book agent, " Science must 
presuppose some things." 

" No, no," said Stimpson ; "you must neither 
presuppose nor assume anything, if you are 
to be scientific, as you call it. But, to come 
out with the plain truth, you, who claim to 
hold strictly to the scientific method, make a 
greater demand upon people's faith and trust 
than do all the theologians in the world. The 
genealogy of the Bible, which traces man's 
origin up to a living God, is neither irrational 
nor hard to accept; but to believe that he 
sprang from a tadpole requires more faith 
than would Be necessary to remove all the 
mountains of the earth into the midst of the 
sea. ( What theologians demand is faith ; what 
you demand is credulity. I mean not to be 
rude, but I must say, what I think is true, 
that the credulity of men of science about the 
origin of man has no counterpart in Christen- 
dom; and I doubt if it can be matched even in 
heathendom." 



8 SAW-MILL SCIENCE. 

Matters were getting warm, but here Jim- 
my E-iggs eame nobly to the rescue of his 
guest. He said the subject was very interest- 
ing, but, not having much book-learning, he 
could not understand what was said, because 
so many hard words were used. He asked 
the book agent if he could not explain things 
in a more familiar way, especially such words 
as differ — something or other — and that proto- 
plasm ; for he did want to get hold df the idea. 

" With pleasure, Mr. Riggs," said the book 
agent. " Let me see : how shall I state it ?" 
and he paused to meditate. Presently his 
face lighted up. " I have it," said he ; " I 
can get an illustration from your own house. 
Your good wife, Mrs. Riggs, makes so many 
very nice things for the table. First of all, 
she prepares a large quantity of dough. jSow, 
the dough, Jimmy, is the protoplasm. All 
sorts of nice things are made out of that same 
dough. For instance, one part of it is made 
into a loaf of bread; another part is made 
into biscuit; another part is made into 
doughnuts ; another part is made into mince 
pies. Of course, other things, such as butter 
and milk and sugar, may be added for some 
things ; but still they all start out with dough 



SAW-MILL SCIENCE. 9 

of some kind or other as the protoplasm. 
They are very different from each other when 
finished, but they start out with essentially 
the same original substance. Now, that mak- 
ing of the original dough into different things, 
such as doughnuts and pies, may be called dif- 
ferentiation. They are made to vary in form 
and outcome." • 

"Oh, I see," said Jimmy. "Well, well ! 
I never understood it before." 

Yet Jimmy's mind was not clear, after all. 
A confused idea seemed to possess him that 
something had been left out. So he proceeded 
to inquire further : 

" Yes, but what makes the dough divide up 
into different things ? It don't divide itself 
up. If my wife didn't make them, the pieces 
of dough wouldn't differ among themselves, 
or whatever it is." 

" Oh yes," said the book agent, with a sud- 
den cautiousness of manner. " In that case, 
it is indeed your wife who makes the differ- 
ence." 

" Well, then," asked Jimmy, " is there no 
hand outside of all these different living be- 
ings that makes them differ among them- 
selves ?" 



10 SAW-MILL SCIENCE. 

"Oh, that's a different matter," said the 
agent. " Science does not know of any such 
power, and therefore declines to recognize any. 
I did not mean to have my illustration of the 
dough carried too far. I merely meant to 
explain what protoplasm and differentiation 
were." 

" That is," continued the stupid Jimmy, 
who could not see that his inquiries were dis- 
tasteful to the agent, "you don't recognize 
that my wife had anything to do with the 
difference between the pies, the cakes, and 
the doughnuts?" 

"I meant," said the agent, "that for the 
purpose of pure science such an inquiry was 
not necessary." 

" Well," said Jimmy, " it won't do for us 
to go home and tell her so. She will feed us 
on pure dough for the next six months until 
we could find out the differ — differ — differ- 
someness." 

The schoolmaster here suddenly broke out 
with an ejaculation in Greek, " Me genoito /" 
apparently quoted from Gal. ii. 17. As he is 
boarding with Jimmy Riggs at present, he has 
special reason for wishing to undergo no such 
half-year's experience. 



SAW-MILL SCIENCE. 11 

But here, to the astonishment of everybody, 
who should start up to the support of the 
book agent but Jericho Jones ? He declared 
himself a convert; he had become an evolu- 
tionist. He could prove the theory to be 
sound. 

JERICHO JONES LECTURES ON THE EVOLU- 
TION OF THE STEAMBOAT. 

Jericho Jones declared himself an evolu- 
tionist. He was convinced by the book 
agent's arguments. Already, in his own 
mind, he had the outline of a lecture which 
he would prepare on the evolution of the 
ocean steamer. If the neighbors cared to 
listen, he would give them a summary in ad- 
vance. Of course, they were delighted. The 
gathering storm between Stimpson and the 
book agent suddenly came to an end. Cries 
came from every part of the shingle-pile : 

" Go ahead, Jerry ! Let's have it. We 
are all ready for revolution." 

Jerry started off: 

" It's wonderful, neighbors — it is wonder- 
ful — what discoveries Science has made. You 
have heard from our distinguished visitor the 
amended genealogy of mankind. It's true, 



12 SAW-MILL SCIENCE. 

neighbors — every word of it. There, for ex- 
ample, is the immortal Shakespeare. Would 
you know his origin? Science has traced 
back his progenitors to the remote ages of the 
past. Shakespeare was the son of the ape ; 
which was the son of the monkey ; which was 
the son of the four-footed beast ; which was 
the son of the bird ; which was the son of the 
fish ; which was the son of the eel ; which was 
the son of the tadpole, as it were. Or, if you 
choose, you can turn it the other way, after 
the best form of Hebrew genealogy: The 
tadpole begat the eel ; and the eel begat the 
fish; and the fish begat the bird; and the 
bird begat the beast ; and the beast begat the 
monkey ; and the monkey begat the ape ; and 
the ape begat the ancestors of Shakespeare. — 
It may seem a little humiliating to you, neigh- 
bors, and not equal to the old Bible genealogy 
you have been accustomed to follow ; but then 
such is Science. 

" In confirmation of this, I would call your 
attention to the evolution of the ocean steam- 
er. There you behold it. What a magnificent 
structure ! Consider its powerful machinery. 
See how it ploughs through the stormy seas. 
Whence came it? It has been developed. 



SAW-MILL SCIENCE. 13 

It is a product of growth, Science has now 
secured many specimens of its ancestral ar- 
chitecture. To find the beginning, we go back 
to the times of the primeval forest, when this 
great country we now inhabit was an unbroken 
wilderness. We have discovered the remains 
of the original dug-out, or canoe. It must 
have existed in perfection long before the days 
of any living inhabitant. The dug-out is the 
protoplasm of all the ships and steamers in 
the world. It seems to have floated peacefully 
on the silent waters of the inland streams. It 
seems to have been, in its original state, but 
one single cell. It existed in an invertebrate 
form. But soon it expanded itself by a nat- 
ural law within itself. The sides, as they 
lengthened, became conscious of a need of 
greater strength. They corrugated them- 
selves up into ribs. A keel grew in the bot- 
tom of the dug-out, in order to furnish a 
spinal column for the ribs. Thus, neighbors, 
the invertebrate developed into the vertebrate. 
The protoplastic dug-out evolved little pad- 
dles on the two sides, by which it could move 
along. As it grew in length it developed it- 
self into the keel-boat, and the little paddles 
at the sides developed into long pushing-poles, 



14 SAW-MILL SCIENCE. 

by which the creature moved itself from place 
to place on its various errands, whatever they 
were. Some well-preserved remains of these 
keel-boats are in the possession of antiquarians 
living on Western rivers. Soon the creature 
became conscious of a necessity of other means 
of getting along. In the centre it shot up a 
post, from which grew a sail : this was the 
dorsal-fin. But side-fins were also needed. 
The pushing-poles differentiated themselves 
into wheels. In course of time the wheels be- 
came smaller, and instead thereof was devel- 
oped an enormous tail with flanges, by which 
greater speed was obtained. And to-day that 
primitive dug-out floats, the pride of the ocean. 
This is but a meagre outline, neighbors ; but 
you will pardon me, for I have not yet had 
time to collect and arrange my thoughts." 

There was a roar of laughter at Jerry's 
absurdity. In this the book agent did not 
join. Jimmy Riggs was a little bewildered. 
However, now came the cross-questioning, 
which was kept up with the continuous jibing 
which they would use toward Jerry, but not 
toward the stranger : 

" Where did your protoplastic dug-out 
come from, Jerry?" 



SAW-MILL SCIENCE. 15 

" Where does bioplasm come from ?" was 
Jerry's answer, prompt and self-confident. 
"Science has not yet penetrated beyond the 
dug-out." 

" How do you know that somebody did not 
make the dug-out ?" said another. 

" We do not know of anybody who did 
make it ; therefore we do not inquire in that 
direction." 

" Was there any evidence of design about 
the dug-out ?" asked the third. 

" The dug-out was simply a cell — a monad/' 
returned Jerry. " It was so exceedingly sim- 
ple in its structure that it is not worth while 
to presuppose any intelligent being having 
anything to do with it." 

" And how do you know, Jerry, that these 
boats developed themselves one out of another, 
since there is so much difference between the 
different kinds?" 

" Simply for the reason that we have quite 
a number of specimens of each species, some 
in a lower and some in a higher state of de- 
velopment. For instance, the highest variety 
of the dug-out corresponds so nearly to the 
lowest variety of the keel-boat that we consid- 
er them, scientifically, passing into each other." 



16 SAW-MILL SCIENCE. 

"Are you sure, Jerry, that nobody had 
anything to do with turning a dug-out into 

a keel-boat?" 

« We have seen no one engaged in such a 
work. We deal simply with the bare fact of 
the dug-out and the keel-boat being found to- 
gether side by side." 

" Are there no gaps in your line of boats 
in which the transition from one variety to 
another is not entirely explained?" 

"Well, yes— a few ; but only a few, I assure 
you, neighbors, on the word of a scientist 
But we hope soon to have those gaps all 
snug and tight." 

"Would anything convince you, Jerry, that 
any living being could have had anything to 
do with the making of the dug-out?" _ 

" Well, yes ; Science is reasonable in that 
respect, 'if any one of our set had seen him* 
make it, we would believe." 

"And so, if one of 'your set' had seen the 
Almighty create the universe, you would 
accept it at once?" 

" Of course we would, without further in- 
quiry," returned Jerry, with the lofty dignity 
of a scientist. 

" Heigho, Jerry ! you are unfortunate. 1 ou 



SAW-MILL SCIENCE. 17 

have been born some thousands of years too 
late for the one, and many millions of years 
too late for the other. Since it is too late to 
see the thing done with your own eyes, would 
you be willing to take a little verbal testi- 
mony of some one who did see it ? For in- 
stance, suppose we had transmitted to us a 
written statement or a sworn affidavit of a 
man who declared that he was the maker of 
the dug-out; or that he improved upon the 
dug-out and made the keel-boat, which was 
next in order ?" 

" Not without some guarantee of his cred- 
ibility," Jerry replied. 

"And what guarantee would you want?" 
" We should want the endorsement of some 
member of our association who has been duly 
voted in." 

" Whom, for example, would you accept ?" 
" Well, Tyndall or Huxley would be con- 
sidered first-class endorsers ; but, in a pinch, 
we would take some second-hand authority, 
like Oliver Wendell Holmes." 

"And I suppose," continued the inquirer, 
" that if the Creator of the heavens and the 
earth were to give you his word that he fash- 
ioned them with his own hand, you would 

2 * 



18 SAW-MILL SCIENCE. 

want an endorsement from some one of your 
c set ; before you would believe it ?" 

"As for that," replied Jerry, "Science is 
inexorable. We take the word of only duly- 
registered members of our association." 

Here another question started up : 

" How about the machinery and boilers in 
the boat ? Where did they come from ?" 

"They all came from the same mass of 
iron," replied Jerry. 

"And did any mechanic or machinist have 
anything to do with putting them into shape ?" 

"As for that," returned Jerry, "Science 
does not recognize machinists. The argument 
from design has no weight with us. Design 
does not prove a designer. The power to 
change into different forms resided in the 
mass of iron itself. A capacity to develop 
itself and to differentiate itself into all sorts of 
things was a part of its original constitution. 
Accordingly, as occasion required, the iron 
differentiated itself — some into the sides of 
the boat ; some into ribs ; some into boiler- 
plates ; some into cylinders and piston-rods ; 
and so on throughout." 

Amid peals of laughter the questions and 
answers continued. 



SAW-MILL SCIENCE. 19 

" Here, Jerry !" said Deacon Thresher. 
{i You say the power to differentiate resided 
in the original mass. Now, supposing that 
it was there, how did it get there? I was 
once in a mint where I saw an ingenious 
scale for testing gold coin. If the coin were 
a particle too light, the scale automatically 
pitched it off in one direction ; if too heavy, 
it pitched it off in another; if just right, it 
dropped it into a box in the centre. It had 
a power to differentiate between coins ; but 
then that power was given to it by a me- 
chanic. It continued to divide off coins even 
when the mechanic was away from it. Now, 
where did your bioplasm get its power to 
differentiate itself?" 

"It got it from itself; it always had it. 
That's all we know about it." 

" Yes," said the Deacon, " that is all you 
know about it ;" and he complimented Jerry 
upon the vigor of his defence. 

It was indeed delightful to see how Jerry 
stood up for the honor of Science, and with 
what patience he tried to satisfy the doubts 
and remove the difficulties of these poor illit- 
erate lumbermen. They perhaps did not 
appreciate all his arguments, but they cheered 



20 SAW-MILL SCIENCE. 

him with shouts and hurrahs. The cross- 
examination continued much longer, but we 
cannot report it all here. 

Jerry wound up with a noble burst of 
eloquence: 

"It may cross some of your lifelong prej- 
udices, my honored neighbors and friends; 
but Science has no doubt of her position. 
We must accept her conclusions or stultify 
ourselves. The genealogy of the iron-clad is 
now definitely settled: The first progenitor 
of the iron-clad was the primitive ' dug-out ; 
of the antediluvian era; and the dug-out 
originated from matter, force, and motion; 
the dug-out begat the keel-boat; the keel- 
boat begat the schooner; and the schooner 
begat the ship ; and the ship begat the steam- 
er ; and the steamer begat the iron-clad." 

" Do you mean to say, Jerry," said Jimmy 
Riggs, " that all that iron made itself up into 
one thing and another without anybody 
working at it?" 

" So far as the demands of Science are con- 
cerned, I do," said Jerry. 

" Well," said Jimmy, with disgust, " if I 
were to go home and tell my wife that, she 
would tell me I was an ass, and would put 



SAW-MILL SCIENCE. 21 

a mustard-plaster on my neck and send me 
off to bed." 

Jerry 's countenance fell. 

" There, now !" said he, sadly, in an altered 
tone of voice; "there's what I get for try- 
ing to bring science within the reach of com- 
mon people. I should have stuck to the 
use of scientific terms. There is Stephen 
Pearl Andrews, whom Dr. Moss has told us 
about. He says : ' Evolution is a natural and 
orderly procession from a unismal to a duis- 
mal state of existence, and thence by combi- 
nation to a trinismal state f and so on. If I 
had defined evolution in that way, I would 
have been called a savant and been invited to 
address country lyceums, stopped at a three- 
dollar hotel, and would have had a double X 
given me to boot. But because I have used 
plain words and spoken of the orderly proces- 
sion of dough and hackmatack into crullers 
and ships, I must be called an ass, have a 
mustard-plaster on the back of my neck, take 
rhubarb and be hurried off to bed. Will 
Theology never quit persecuting Science?" 



22 SAW-MILL SCIENCE. 



STIMPSON AND JIM MANLY EXCHANGE 
VIEWS. 

The notable events of the next evening 
were three: 

First, a preliminary set-to between Jim 
Manly and Stimpson. 

Second, a general charge on Jerry's po- 
sition. 

Third, a supplementary talk between Jim- 
my Riggs and his wife on the evolution of 
dough. 

Jim Manly complained that Jericho Jones 
was not wishing to help, but to hinder, the 
cause of Science. The dug-out as an illus- 
tration did not represent the case fairly. A 
dug-out is a senseless piece of wood. But the 
bioplasm of Science has life ; and it is the life 
which enables it to evolve and differentiate. 

Stimpson replied : 

"Well, Jim, that, instead of making it 
easier, only makes it harder for you to explain. 
For instance : On your work-bench you have 
a screw-driver made out of an old file. Now, 
it wouldn't do to say that that file had made 
itself into a screw-driver ; it's your business 
to account for the change. You have also 



SAW-MILL SCIENCE. 23 

on your work-bench another screw-driver, 
though a very small one. The top of the 
handle screws off. Inside are a dozen little 
implements of one kind and another — a little 
cork-screw, a brad-awl, a punch, a tiny saw — 
any one of which can be fitted on the end and 
used. The instrument can punch ; it can 
bore ; it can file ; it can saw ; and what not. 
Now, it is much harder to explain the ori- 
gin of that set of tools than of the first one ; 
but suppose, in addition to its being able to 
do a good many kinds of work, that the brad- 
awl handle had the power of working itself, 
and, still more, had the power to discern 
where its work was needed ; that it could see 
where a hole was needed, and could make 
it; could see where a line was needed, and 
could mark it; could chisel a little at one 
time and rasp a little at another; and, with- 
out anybody's help or anybody's handling it, 
could make some ingenious piece of cabinet- 
work. You would certainly have a marvel- 
lous tool, and you would have a big job on 
hand to tell how it came to do all that. 

"So about your bioplasm. You say that 
it has life, and therefore it knows how to do 
things. You have got a harder question to 



24 SAW-MILL SCIENCE. 

answer now than you had before. Tell me, 
what is life? Where does it come from? 
If I should ask you how the little handle 
came to do such a piece of cabinet-work, and 
you should tell that it was because it had 
power to do so, you would not be answering 
my question. I ask you, How is it the bio- 
plasm does this ? Before, there were two 
questions to be put to you: 

" First. Where did bioplasm come from ? 

"Second. How did it get its power to 
differentiate ? 

"And now to these you render necessary 
the addition of another question : 

" Third. Where did the bioplasm get its 
life from? 

" It did not always have it ; it originated 
at some time. It must either have originated 
from an outside source or it must have orig- 
inated from itself. You, who boast of your 
scientific knowledge, do not like to admit that 
this life came from some independent and out- 
side source, because that would lead you too 
near to the recognition of a personal God. 
You prefer to believe that life originated it- 
self. Indeed, you are forced to hold that 
view if you reject the other. And if you 



SAW-MILL SCIENCE. 25 

hold that perishable life originates itself, 
then I don't see that Jericho is so very un- 
scientific when he teaches that his dug-out 
gradually evolved some sort of intelligence 
and some sort of differentiating power of its 
own. It might require myriads and myriads 
of ages, and a succession of myriads of dug- 
outs one after the other, each one showing an 
infinitesimal advance upon the preceding ones, 
before we reach the period of even the homely 
Indian canoe which Jerry takes as his bio- 
plasm. His talk is nonsensical, I know; but 
then, to tell you the honest truth, Jim, so is 
yours. I can't see that there is any substan- 
tial difference between you. You insist upon 
unlimited time ; that's all he wants. Besides, 
you know, you teach that this world, in its 
present state, is tens of thousands of years old. 
Who knows but the ancestors of Jericho's dug- 
out go 'way back beyond the Carboniferous 
period? If one atom of matter can originate 
life, I don't see why another cannot. Your 
leading scientists aver that the promise and 
potency of all life was in the fire-mist of the 
remote ages of the past. Mark you, they 
say all life. Now, do give Jerry's dug-out a 
little of the benefit of the supposition. 



26 SAW-MILL SCIENCE. 

" The fact is, Jim, if anybody else would 
talk about ordinary matters as scientists talk 
about their matters, people would set him 
down as a natural-born fool. Both you and 
I were at the great Exposition in Philadel- 
phia. You saw the huge Corliss engine. All 
around it, in every direction, ingenious ma- 
chines were at work. Some were pumping 
water ; some were weaving ; some were print- 
ing ; some were sewing. You did not see 
the power that moved all these things : all 
you saw was matter, force, and motion. Now, 
suppose I had chosen to deny that there was 
any intelligence behind all this, would you set 
me down for a knave or for a fool ? Suppose 
I should say to you, There is nothing here but 
mechanical law, and i Science is its prophet f 
I should be doing just what the worshippers 
of Science are doing every day. I behold the 
movements of the ponderous engine, and I cry 
out — ' No builder ! ? I see the looms working 
out their marvellous patterns of beauty, and 
I cry out — 'No designer!' I see the print- 
ing-press throwing off printed sheets faster 
than I can pick them up, and I cry — 'No 
artificer ! ; I behold a thousand objects of in- 
genious handicraft, and I cry — ( No maker !' 



SAW-MILL SCIENCE. 27 

"Your men of science look at this won- 
drous earth, with its innumerable adaptations 
to specific ends, and they cry out — • No Crea- 
tor V They behold the wondrous movement 
of the heavenly bodies, and they cry out — 
'No God!' 'No Preserver!' 'No Provi- 
dence V They say they do not see a Creator 
at work ; they say they have never seen him 
at work. Why, therefore, should they admit 
there is one ? But because they say they do 
not see the hand of a Creator, is that evidence 
that there is no Creator ? I might go through 
a machine-shop where a hundred kinds of 
work are done; I might possibly, by great 
care and by dodging this way and that, man- 
age to avoid seeing directly any one at work. 
Then I might go away and say I saw the en- 
gine in process of building, but declare upon 
my word of honor that I did not see any one 
at work on it. To maintain and perpetuate 
ignorance in such a case must demand con- 
summate tact and skill. Your men of sci- 
ence, while examining and probing the innu- 
merable things that God has made, can never 
for a single moment escape the evidence of 
design; and yet they declare themselves ig- 
norant of the existence of a Creator. The 



28 SAW-MILL SCIENCE. 

achievement of ignorance, under such circum- 
stances, is a greater feat of genius than any 
of their discoveries has ever been." 

WINDING UP, FOR THE PRESENT, THE 
SCIENCE DISCUSSION. 

The neighbors were out in force the follow- 
ing night. Before the evening was over some 
of them turned upon Jericho Jones. They 
were determined to finish the battle that had 
been begun when the book agent was there 
a fortnight ago. 

" Come, now, Jerry," said one of them ; 
" we will, for the present, raise no question 
as to whether your iron-clad was made or 
was developed. But just tell us where that 
original dug-out came from which you said 
formed your protoplasm." 

" I told you," said Jerry, " that it origi- 
nated from matter, force, and motion." 

" Yes, but is that all ?" said the other. 

"Science knows of nothing back of that," 
retorted Jerry. 

" Jerry," his inquisitor resumed, " there's 
that bundle of shingles you are sitting on; 
it is composed of matter. The shingles were 
cut by means of force, and the force was at- 



SAW-MILL SCIENCE. 29 

tended by motion; but was there no fourth 
element connected with its manufacture — no 
mechanic who had a hand in it ?" 

" Of course there was," said Jerry. 

" Well, then," returned the other, " do you 
pretend to say that the universe came into ex- 
istence from matter, force, and motion only 
without any Creator to wield them all ?" 

"Nothing but what we scientists call the 
Unknown and the Unknowable." 

"Do you pretend to say, Jerry, that no- 
body can know anything whatever about 
that unseen power— whether it is intelligent, 
or is wise, or has any design or plan or 
purpose ?" 

"I do," said Jerry. "I would have you 
know, neighbors, that I am an Agnostic ;*" 
and he folded his arms in proud compla- 
cency. 

About half the company were familiar with 
the word ; the others were not. The former 
burst into a roar of merriment; the latter 
were dazed for a moment. 

Jimmy Riggs spoke up : 

" An Agnostic ! Now, what is that again ?" 

An appeal was made to the schoolmaster 
to explain the word. 

3* 



30 SAW-MILL SCIENCE. 

"An Agnostic," he replied, "Jimmy, is an 
ignoramus. ' Agnostic ' is a Greek word, and 
means ' one who does not know anything/ 
' Ignoramus ' is a Latin word, and means 
about the same thing." 

" Do you mean to say," asked Jimmy again, 
"that an Agnostic is a natural-born fool?" 

"Far from it, Jimmy; he is not so much 
a natural-born fool as a self-made fool — 
which is something a great deal worse. 
However, there is a difference in the use of 
the words. An ignoramus usually means a 
poor dolt or dunce who has never had a 
chance to learn anything; an Agnostic is a 
lofty term which scientists assume to cover 
wilful ignorance." 

Jimmy lapsed into a profound and silent 
endeavor to grapple with the new ideas thus 
sprung upon him. 

The schoolmaster continued his remarks 
for the benefit of the others : 

"You see, neighbors, it is just here: there 
are only three ways possible of finding out 
the origin and the drift of all things : 

"First, to be on the spot and see with 
one's own eyes. Of course, that is out of 
the question. 



SAW-MILL SCIENCE. 31 

"Second, to learn by inference, which is 
an application of the doctrine that a design 
proves a designer. Many scientists fight 
against this mode of dealing with the sub- 
ject. The only real reason for so doing is 
that they do not like to accept the conclu- 
sions to which the evidences of design would 
lead them — the recognition of an almighty 
and personal God. 

■ ■ Third, testimony of a witness — that is, 
of the Creator. The scientists do not like 
to admit any Creator. They trace the origin 
of the locomotive up to the machine-shop. 
There they abruptly stop, saying, *Here is 
matter, force, and motion/ They refuse to 
step within the workshop and face the en- 
gineer who built the locomotive. Up to the 
point of reaching the Creator sceptical scien- 
tists profess to know almost everything ; be- 
yond that point they deny that it is possible 
to know anything. They say, ( It is impos- 
sible we should find out anything about the 
engineer who is alleged to have made this 
locomotive. We don't know anything, and 
we don't want to know anything. Let us 
enjoy the locomotive itself. Eat and drink, 
for to-morrow we die/ " 



32 SAW-MILL SCIENCE. 

When the company dispersed, Jimmy be- 
took himself home. His wife asked him, 

" Jimmy, what was all that racket over at 
the saw-mill about ?" 

" Well, I don't know that I can exactly 
tell, Hannah ; I am a good deal mixed in my 
own mind about it. But they say that all the 
different things in the world made themselves 
— sort of grew, like." 

Dame Riggs opened her eyes and stared 
at Jimmy, waiting for further information. 
Jimmy floundered along as best he could. 

"And where did all that nonsense start 
from?" 

" It was commenced," Jimmy replied, " by 
that book agent who was here two weeks ago. 
He was backed up by Jerry Jones; but I 
don't think Jerry believed a word of what 
he was saying. He is always talking some 
sort of nonsense. The book agent explained 
it to us by speaking of your dough that you 
make into biscuits and crullers. He said 
that dough divided itself up into one thing 
and another of its own accord." 

Dame Riggs's eyes snapped : 

" Did he mean to say that I had nothing 
to do with making those biscuits?" 



SAW-MILL SCIENCE. 33 

Jimmy was meek and took an alarm : 

"Well, really, Hannah, I don't exactly 
know what he did mean." 

Just at this moment who should come in 
but Jerry Jones himself, who wanted to bor- 
row some little thing from Jimmy? 

Dame Riggs turned to him : 

" Weil, Jerry what is all this nonsense 
that has been going on over at the saw- 
mill?" 

Jerry went on to explain that all things 
were evolved, or developed, or made up, out 
of one simple material : 

"Just, for instance, Mrs. Riggs, as all 
your nice bread and biscuits and jumbles 
came from one original piece of dough." 

" Yes, but who made them different, and 
where did the dough come from?" quickly 
asked Hannah, who had common sense, if 
not science. 

Jerry made an evasive reply. 

The dame put another question : 

" And did the heavens and the earth have 
no Creator, either?" 

"Well, we scientists don't know of any 
Creator." 

" And, Jerry, do you make your igno- 



34 SAW-MILL SCIENCE. 

ranee the measure of other people's know- 
ledge?" The dame looked at him for a 
moment or two in silence. Then she said 
slowly, with a mixture of pity and con- 
tempt, " Jerry, if I didn't know that you 
did have common sense when you choose to 
use it, I would set you down as an idiot. 
If that's all you have to talk about over 
there, you and Jimmy both ought to be at 
home — " 

At this instant a pine-knot burning away 
on the fire shot out several sparks on the 
wide brick hearth. They could do no harm, 
but if trodden upon would leave ugly black 
specks, which were Mrs. Riggs's abhorrence. 

It is astonishing what cowards men not 
used to working over a kitchen fire become 
when they see sparks shooting out into the 
room. Mrs. Riggs jumped for the broom to 
sweep back the invading sparks. In an in- 
stant Jimmy shot out of the back door near 
the woodhouse, and Jerry went out at the 
front door, which was still open, and made 
out of the yard and into the highway as fast 
his legs would carry him. The dame swept 
up the sparks, then went on to finish her 
sentence : 



SAW-MILL SCIENCE. 35 

" As I was Baying, if that's all you have 
to talk about over there, you had better be at 
home studying your Sunday-school lesson 
with your wives and children, and finding 
out who did make — " She lifted her eyes ; 
there was no one in the room but herself. 
She looked from corner to corner in amaze- 
ment. She called out, "Jimmy, where are 
you?" 

Jimmy answered from the wood-shed. He 
was heard picking up sticks. In a moment 
more in he came with an armful. 

"What did you run away for?" 

"Oh, I had to bring in some wood for 
the morning fire." 

"And where is Jerry? What did he run 
away for?" 

"I don't know, Hannah," Jimmy replied, 
with evasiveness; "I think he must have 
misunderstood you." 

" Misunderstood me ! Why, Jimmy, don't 
I speak English plain enough to be under- 
stood?" 

"Yes, you do, Hannah; but you know 
Jerry is a queer fellow, anyhow." 

"Just tell him for me," said the dame, 
" that if he has lost his wits, it is no reason 



36 SAW-MILL SCIENCE. 

why be should lose his good manners. He 
might have said 'Good-night' to me before 
he went away ;" and the dame busied herself 
with something else. 



THE END. 



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